This episode is part of the series on why certain specialties make the fertility journey uniquely painful. Today Dr. Erica turns her attention to emergency medicine physicians and the particular combination of shift work, hyper vigilance, trauma exposure, and altered sleep that makes this one of the hardest lines of work to be in while trying to build a family.

This episode is for the ER doc who is brilliant under pressure at work and exhausted by what that costs her everywhere else.

In this episode:

• How shift work disrupts the circadian rhythm, increases inflammation, and keeps the body in a constant state of alert
• The mind warp of caring for patients with unplanned pregnancies when you would give anything to be in their shoes
• Why ER physicians are some of the most prepared, resourceful people on the planet and how that same hypervigilance works against them on the fertility journey
• The car full of emergency supplies: how disaster-prevention thinking translates into bracing for five failed transfers before the current one has even started
• Why ultrasounds in your work environment are not there for your use and how to define that relationship ahead of time
• Authentic hope as the antidote to hypervigilance: staying in the present moment rather than racing twenty steps ahead
• The importance of processing trauma — not stuffing it — when you work in one of the most abusive, high-acuity environments in medicine
• Why EMDR and trauma-informed therapy are especially relevant for ER physicians
• Practical sleep strategies: anchoring a post-call sleep schedule, building a bedtime routine, and discovering Yoga Nidra
• When going per diem is the right call and how to give yourself permission to make that choice
• How to use data on physician pregnancy outcomes to advocate for schedule modifications and why Dr. Erica helped a client write exactly that letter

There is a way through. Dr. Erica has seen it happen for ER physicians again and again, and she wants that for you too.

Support the show

As always, please keep in mind that this is my perspective and nothing in this podcast is medical advice.

If you found this conversation valuable, book a consult call with me using this link:

https://www.loveandsciencefertility.com/private-fertility-consult

Follow us on social media:

IG: www.instagram.com/loveandsciencefertility

FB: www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61553692167183

Please don’t let infertility have the final word. We are here to take the burden from you so that you can achieve your goal of building your family with confidence and compassion. I’m rooting for you always.

In Gratitude,

Dr. Erica Bove